Question

List the main features of the “quantum mechanical model of an atom”.

Answer 1

Hint: Quantum mechanics is one of the greatest discoveries in the field of physics and it depends on Schrodinger’s wave equation and its solution. We can bring the idea of shells, subshells and orbitals through the solution of this wave equation. Some of the features are discussed below.

Complete answer:
$1.$ The energy of an electron is quantized which means that an electron can only have certain specific values of energy.
$2.$ The solution of the Schrodinger wave equation is nothing but just this quantized energy of an electron and it is also responsible for the result of wave-like properties of an electron.
$3.$According to Heisenberg's uncertainty principle we cannot determine the exact position and momentum of an electron. So we can only determine the probability of finding an electron at a position. The probability of finding an electron at a position is denoted by ${\Psi ^2}$, where $\Psi $ represents the wave function of that electron.
$4.$ In an atom the wave function of an electron is nothing but an atomic orbital. There are many atomic orbitals for an electron because electrons can have many wave functions. Every atomic orbital has its own shape and some energy associated with it. All the information of an electron is stored in $\Psi $ and we can easily find this information by using quantum mechanics.
$5.$ The probability of finding an electron at a point within an atom is directly proportional to ${\Psi ^2}$.

Note:
The orbital wave function $\left( \Psi \right)$ is also known as probability density. This orbital wave function is always positive. In the case of multi electron atoms, application of Schrodinger’s wave equation finds some difficulty. This wave equation cannot be solved exactly for multi electron atoms or species.